We Hear You Loud And Clear Acting President Osibanjo Tell Protesters

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has replied Nigerians who are protesting against the current economic downturn in the country, saying the Federal Government hears them loud and clear.

He was speaking at the State House, Abuja, during the consultative forum on Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

The acting president also declared that Nigeria was currently faced with a very serious economic situation.

His words: “I have also gone round the country and I have heard the people even in the past few weeks and even today some are out on the streets protesting.

“Many of our people are saying the same thing that things are hard, things are difficult, but I will like to say to every Nigeria that we hear you loud and clear.

The government is one that is determined to give the ordinary man a fair deal, you have the right to live well decently and we are committed to making that happen.

“But years of deterioration and corruption cannot be remedied over night.

“But again I must emphasise that it is our business and duty to ensure that we put the Nigerian economy on the right path to sustainable growth and that is what exactly what we are determined to do.

“We have in the past 13 months intervened three times to give the states enough resources to pay salary of workers; the last intervention was in December when we paid the Paris Club refund to the states.

“This is money that the federal government has owed the states since 2005 and even when oil was selling at $115 per barrel, this debt was not paid.

“The president insisted when he was going to pay that money to the states that at least 50 percent of it must be to pay salaries of workers.

“We tend to ensure that of course that that is what is done. Many of the states were able to pay salaries and backlog of pensions in December because of that particular fund that was made available to the states.”